Health is not a clean canvas.

Area of Science:

• Arts and Humanities
• Medical Humanities
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Health and illness are often viewed simplistically, overlooking their multifaceted nature.
• The lived experience of health is deeply personal, shaped by individual histories and social contexts.
• Conventional healthcare models may not fully capture the subjective and embodied aspects of patient experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore health and illness as complex, layered experiences.
• To highlight the limitations of clinical interventions in representing the full scope of a patient's lived experience.
• To assert the value of arts-in-health and creative engagement in complementing conventional healthcare.

Main Methods:

• Metaphorical analysis using the central metaphor of a "canvas" to represent the body and lived health.
• Exploration of embodied experience, interpersonal care, and the role of the arts in health.
• Analysis of poetic imagery to convey interconnectedness, agency, and wellbeing.

Main Results:

• Illness and vulnerability are presented as integral textures on the "canvas" of health, reflecting physical and psychological impacts.
• Healthcare providers contribute to the patient's canvas, but clinical interventions have limitations.
• Creative acts (music, clay, laughter) empower patients to reclaim agency and express emotions, fostering wellbeing.

Conclusions:

• Health is not about perfection but an ongoing, imperfect process of co-creation, endurance, and healing.
• Arts-in-health discourse offers a framework for understanding the transformative potential of creative engagement.
• The embodied and aesthetic dimensions of health are crucial for a holistic approach to wellbeing.